THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Opposition boycotted Assembly proceedings on Monday accusing the government of ‘favouritism’ and ‘nepotism’ in choosing a company for developing a unified software as part of implementing core banking solutions in cooperative banks at a cost of Rs 160 crore.The Opposition raised the issue when Cooperation Minister Kadakampally Surendran said during the discussion on demand for grants that a company named IFTAS would develop the software for cooperative banks.
V D Satheesan of the Congress sought to know why IFTAS was selected for the project. When Kadakampally failed to give a convincing reply, Opposition MLAs created ruckus in the House. The Opposition also picked holes in the minister’s claim that IFTAS was a subsidiary of Reserve Bank of India. The Opposition refuted the minister’s claim and said it was a private company.
Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala asked the government why an Expression of Interest was not sought nor a tender floated for selecting the company and accused the government of favouritism and nepotism.Kadakampally said all set procedures were followed and that a final decision on the selection of the company has not been made.
Chennithala asked why a series of meetings were convened by the Chief Minister, the Cooperation Minister and senior government officers with the company representatives and sought to know more about one Prashant Nambiar whose name cropped during the meetings with the government.Later, Pinarayi clarified IFTAS was a subsidiary of the Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology, which in turn was controlled by the Reserve Bank of India.